Yesterday, CodeWeavers released CrossOver 7 for Mac (starting at US $40), a major upgrade to the software that enables a Mac to run Windows programs without Windows. The new version adds support for Microsoft Office 2007, Adobe CS for Windows applications, and ActiveX controls, all running in Mac OS X. CodeWeavers also released CrossOver 7 for Linux, with the same feature set as the Mac version.

The Microsoft Office 2007 compatibility includes support for Outlook 2007 group calendaring and other interactions with Exchange Server. Support for older versions of Office for Windows has been enhanced, and CrossOver 7 adds support for Microsoft's Compatibility Pack, which enables Office 2003 for Windows to open the .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files created by Office 2007.

With CrossOver 7 installed, Mac users can use Internet Explorer to access ActiveX web sites. Web sites that use ActiveX controls cannot be run from Mac web browsers.

CrossOver 7 also now supports Adobe CS and CS2 for Windows, including Photoshop. The company said that CrossOver 7 greatly improves support of online banking in Quicken 2007 and 2008 for Windows.

Unlike virtual machine applications, CrossOver makes Windows software directly compatible with Mac OS X, running Windows programs alongside of Mac applications, without Windows. The trade off is that CrossOver isn't compatible with all Windows applications. CodeWeavers has a list of compatibile Windows applications at its website.

CrossOver for Mac 7 is available in Standard (US $40) and Pro (US $80 editions. The Pro edition includes CrossOver Games, which enables users to run many Windows games directly in Mac OS X. The Pro version also includes multi-user support and the ability to deploy CrossOver and a set of Windows applications to Macs over a network. The Pro version also has a longer support period than the Standard edition.

CodeWeavers will upgrade current CrossOver Mac customers to a CrossOver for Mac 7 Pro license.